“Poetry Salon” with Claire Keyes on Mary Oliver

September 15 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

On Sunday, September 15th, the poetry of Mary Oliver (1935-2019) will initiate this year’s Poetry Salon at the Abbot Public Library. We will explore a range of Sustainable Poetry, or poetry that conveys an awareness of the value of nature with an implicit call for its protection. Oliver’s poetry can be seen as an ecological tale of inclusion in a community of interrelated presences. Influenced by both Whitman and Thoreau, she is known for her clear and poignant observances of the natural world. Maxine Kumin describes Mary Oliver in the Women’s Review of Books as an “indefatigable guide to the natural world, particularly to its lesser-known aspects.” At its most intense, her poetry aims to peer beneath the constructions of culture and reason that burden us with an alienated consciousness to celebrate the primitive, mystical visions that reveal “a mossy darkness – / a dream that would never breathe air / and was hinged to your wildest joy / like a shadow.” Please join Marblehead Poet and Salem State Professor Emerita Claire Keyes from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm for this exploration of Oliver’s poetry. The Salon is free and open to the public.